Altman Takes the Stand; OpenAI Eyes Legal Action Against Apple

Two storylines dominated OpenAI’s week: Sam Altman took the witness stand in the Musk trial, and a separate conflict with Apple quietly escalated toward litigation.

Key points

• Altman testified Tuesday and Wednesday in the California court hearing Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and its leadership.
• Altman denied betraying Musk, pushing back against the central allegation that he manipulated Musk into donating $38 million before steering the company away from its nonprofit mission.
• The trial, now in its third week, could materially affect OpenAI’s leadership structure and its path toward what sources have described as a potential trillion-dollar IPO.
• Separately, OpenAI is preparing possible legal action against Apple as its two-year ChatGPT partnership with the iPhone maker deteriorates, according to Bloomberg.
• The Apple dispute is surfacing just weeks before Apple’s annual WWDC developer conference, adding awkward timing to a fraying commercial relationship.

What did Altman actually say on the stand?

The core of Musk’s lawsuit is a fraud and breach-of-contract claim: that Altman and OpenAI persuaded Musk to contribute $38 million to what he believed was a permanently nonprofit research organization, then pivoted to a for-profit structure once his funding was secured. Altman directly denied betraying Musk, though detailed testimony beyond that denial was not fully captured in available reporting at time of publication.

The stakes are unusually high. The Yahoo Finance report notes the trial “may determine the future of OpenAI and its leadership,” a characterization that reflects how broadly the court could theoretically reach into the company’s governance. A ruling that OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit structure was improper would create significant legal and structural complications at exactly the moment the company is raising capital at scale and preparing for a public offering.

Worth keeping in mind: this site has tracked the Musk trial since it opened. Prior coverage established the Tesla takeover subplot and the size of Greg Brockman’s stake. This week’s development is the first time Altman himself has been on the witness stand, making it substantively new territory even within a continuing story.

Is the Apple relationship actually breaking down?

The OpenAI-Apple partnership, struck roughly two years ago, brought ChatGPT integration into Apple’s operating systems as part of Apple Intelligence. It was, at the time, a significant distribution win for OpenAI. Now, Bloomberg reports that OpenAI is actively preparing a potential legal case against Apple, though the specific grounds for that case were not detailed in available sources.

The timing is pointed. WWDC, Apple’s showcase for its software roadmap, is weeks away. If Apple is pivoting toward an in-house AI solution or a competing provider, the conference would be the natural venue to announce it. OpenAI apparently is not waiting to find out before exploring its legal options.

For investors watching OpenAI’s trajectory, the Apple situation matters for a concrete reason. Distribution partnerships are a significant part of how OpenAI reaches consumers outside its own apps. Losing or litigating with Apple would reduce that reach and potentially affect revenue projections that underpin the company’s current valuation and IPO narrative.

What does this mean for the IPO path?

Two open legal fronts, one against a co-founder and one against a major commercial partner, are not ideal conditions for a company moving toward public markets. That said, OpenAI has continued raising capital throughout its legal turbulence, and the IPO timeline has not been publicly revised based on any of these disputes.

The Musk trial’s outcome remains the larger near-term variable. A verdict against OpenAI on the nonprofit-conversion claims could force structural changes that complicate or delay the conversion to a for-profit entity that an IPO would require. The Apple dispute, if it progresses to active litigation, adds a second layer of uncertainty around the commercial partnerships that support the company’s revenue model.

Neither situation has reached a resolution this week. Both are worth watching closely in the weeks ahead.